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Home > What Is Available > Services to American Citizens Abroad > Overseas Outlook > Jul-Dec 2002
Please send all your correspondence, including book order forms and requests for replacement cassettes, to Mr. Raj. Some readers continue to send correspondence, book order forms, and requests for replacement cassette players to CMLS, in Melbourne, Florida, and/or the Multistate Center West in Salt Lake City, Utah. This only delays service.
For more than two years, NLS has been sending machines by Federal Express rather than USPS free matter. Because FedEx requires recipients' telephone numbers, NLS must have your number on file to expedite delivery. If you did not provide your telephone number in your application, please send it to Mr. Raj as soon as possible.
The magazine New Choices ceased publication with the May 2002 issue and, therefore, is no longer offered on cassette.
Patrons will soon be able to select and order NLS catalogs that will be issued in 2003 and 2004. A large-print order form will be mailed to individuals who subscribe to Talking Book Topics and a braille order form to Braille Book Review subscribers. The form will provide an opportunity to choose upcoming publications such as Cassette Books, Braille Books, For Younger Readers, and Magazines in Special Media, which will be sent directly to patrons when they are produced. Please make selections and return the survey forms promptly to receive catalogs.
A new reference circular, Information for Travelers with Physical or Visual Disabilities (2002) has been produced and is available in large print and online at <www.loc.gov/nls/reference/circulars/travelers.html>.
NLS and the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), cosponsors of the 2002 Digital Audio Playback Device Competition for Students, selected the prize-winning entries on June 7 in Washington, D.C. Six judges convened at NLS to evaluate 146 submissions from 28 design schools around the country. At the end of the day they announced the names of three third-prize winners, two second-prize winners, and the first-prize winner, Lachezar Tsvetanov, a senior at the University of Bridgeport. Tsvetanov's design, a model called "Dook," earned him a cash award of $5000 and an expenses-paid trip to the annual meeting of IDSA in Monterey, California, in July to receive the prize. Tsvetanov's faculty advisor, Robert Brainard, was honored with a $2,000 cash award.
The student design competition, which began January 1, 2002, and solicited entries from fifty-five IDSA-affiliated schools, was established to give students "a unique opportunity to inspire the next generation of audio playback machines."
Current audio machines use the same analog cassettes that made their appearance in the 1970s. "Analog technology has served us well, but it is moving toward obsolescence," said Frank Kurt Cylke, director of NLS. "Users are beginning to expect their talking-book playback machines to have navigation features found in CD and DVD players and computers, such as the ability to skip sections or return to a bookmark. As analog cassette technology becomes more scarce, it will become too expensive. We must move to digital audio to take advantage of improved features and lower costs," says Cylke.
Each issue of Overseas Outlook includes a bibliography on a subject that may be of interest to overseas patrons. This issue features a minibibliography of works by W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neal Gear that focus on Native Americans. A minibibliography on Iraq is also included because of recent geopolitical developments. If you wish to receive any of these books, please complete the order form at the back of this newsletter and return it to the overseas librarian.
The husband-and-wife writing team of W. Michael and Kathleen O'Neal Gear live in Thermopolis, Wyoming, and have been married since 1982. Sharing a professional interest in history, they have collaborated since 1986 to write the First North Americans series as well as other books. Michael Gear has been a physical archaeologist, paleopathologist, and a cultural resource management specialist. In 1978, irritated by historical inaccuracies in a western he read, Michael set out to write his first novel. Although he did not sell a book until 1987 this event marked the beginning of a notable writing career. Kathleen O'Neal Gear has been a historian and archaeologist for the states of Wyoming, Kansas, and Nebraska, and for the United States Department of Interior. Her specialty is preliterate culture and religion.
The first book of the First North Americans series, People of the Wolf, focuses on Native Americans living in Canada at the end of the Ice Age. The two main characters, twin brothers Raven Hunter and Runs-in-Light, are the offspring of an encounter between a female member of the People, the tribe in which they are to be raised, and a male warrior of the Other, a rival clan. Raven Hunter becomes a leader of the People but eventually becomes an enemy to members of his own group. Runs-in-Light is a visionary who dreams that a wolf, a revered animal among the People, leads him from barren hunting grounds to fertile land, earning him the name of Wolf Dreamer. The series chronicles the lives of the People and their descendants. The books are listed in the order in which they are intended to be read. All are suitable for senior high and older readers and are available from NLS collection.
People of the Wolf
RC 41113
The authors, archaeologists, look at North America through the eyes of a
people who forged a path from the Old World into the New. This account
begins as the Ice Age ends and the People are led into new and plentiful
hunting grounds by Wolf Dreamer. Violence, some strong language, and
some descriptions of sex. 1994
People of the Fire
RC 41114
The descendants of the first North Americans have moved into the Rocky
Mountains, where they are plagued by fire and famine. Their only hope
for survival rests with the dreamer Little Dancer and with a sacred wolf
bundle made in the time of Wolf Dreamer. Violence, some strong
language, and some descriptions of sex. 1994
People of the Earth
RC 41690
The world has become unsafe for the People of the Earth, as their tribe is
repeatedly attacked by unfriendly clans. The wolf bundle plays an
important role as White Ash and her husband, Still Water, journey toward
an encounter with a Soul Flier. Violence, strong language, and some
descriptions of sex. 1992
People of the River
RC 41691
In the 1300s, in what will become Illinois, the Mound Builders have
fallen upon hard times. A drought has caused their corn crop to fail, and
they have no way to pay their required tribute to Chief Tharon. Their only
hope lies in young priestess Nightshade. Violence, strong language, and
some descriptions of sex. 1992
People of the Sea
RC 41692
Kestrel, pregnant and menaced by her husband, escapes and heads for her
dead lover's people--the Otter Clan on the West Coast. She and her baby
are rescued by Sunchaser--but will protecting them keep him from saving
his own clan from extinction? Violence, strong language, and some
descriptions of sex. 1993
People of the Lakes
RC 41693
The Mask, an evil spirit among the Hopewell Mound Builders, now has
complete control of Mica Bird. For peace to be restored, his wife, Star
Shell, must take the Mask to the Great Lakes and throw it into the Roaring
Waters. For Star Shell it is a race against time. Violence, strong
language, and some descriptions of sex. 1994
People of the Lightning
RC 43174
The authors discuss the Windover people who lived in what is now
Florida some eight thousand years ago. The story centers around
Pondwader, an albino, who becomes known as White Lightning Boy.
Violence and some descriptions of sex. 1995
People of the Silence
RC 44626
Focuses on the Anasazi people of what is now northwestern New Mexico.
In the mid-twelfth century, teenaged Cornsilk and Poor Singer seek their
beginnings amid the fall of an empire beset by internal warfare. Violence
and some descriptions of sex. 1996
People of the Mist
RC 46758
In the Algonquin nation of the Chesapeake Bay area about A.D. 1300, Red
Knot's murder on the eve of her wedding causes a rift among the clans
rather than the alliance the marriage would have created. Panther, a
reclusive old Indian, must solve the mystery. Descriptions of sex and
some violence. 1997
People of the Masks
RC 49546
The early Iroquoian people occupy northeastern North America around
A.D. 1000. A young boy seer called False Face Child is befriended by
Wren, a slightly older girl, when his enemy Jumping Badger seeks his
death. Some violence. 1998
The Death Lobby: How the West Armed Iraq by Kenneth R.
Timmerman
RC 36279
The author, an investigative journalist specializing in the Middle East,
spent six years studying the sale of arms to Iraq. He sees France and
Germany as the major providers, but also believes that the Soviet Union,
Belgium, Egypt, China and the United States all helped supply Iraq with
either the raw materials or the finished products it needed to build up an
extensive arsenal of weapons. 1993
Forty Days by Bob Simon
RC 35181
A CBS correspondent and his news team were taken prisoner by the
Iraqis soon after the start of the Gulf War in 1991. Simon recounts the
beatings, starvation, and lengthy interrogations that the four men endured.
He also relates what was going on in his mind as he fought to retain his
sanity, especially while he was in solitary confinement. And in an
epilogue, he describes efforts others made on rescue the team. 1993
The Greatest Threat: Iraq, Weapons of Mass Destruction by Richard
Butler
RC 52515
Former director of a United Nations commission established after the
Gulf War to prevent Iraq from creating arsenals of mass destruction
argues that nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons threaten
civilization. Butler also details the commission's failed efforts to stop
Saddam Hussein's military development. 2000
Iraq by J.P. Docherty
RC 52146
Explores the people, history, culture, land, and economy of this Middle
Eastern country, once called Mesopotamia, which is considered the
"cradle of civilization." Also briefly discusses its modern wars with
neighbors Iran and Kuwait. For grades 6-9. 1999
The Modern History of Iraq by Phebe Marr
RC 28658
History professor Marr lived in Iraq for several years doing research and
conducting extensive interviews. The result is a study of the political,
economic, and social issues that created the Iraq of the 1980s. 1989
My Turn to Speak: Iran, the Revolution, and Secret Deals
by Abu al-Hasan Bani Sadr
RC 33922
The author, former president of Iran, presents his views on the Iranian
Revolution. Bani-Sadr charges that Jimmy Carter made deals to control
oil prices, and that Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush made
arrangements to have the American hostages released only after the 1980
election. He also describes the duplicity of Khomeini and provides an
insider's view of the Iran-Iraq War. Bestseller. 1992
Saddam Hussein by Rebecca Stefoff
RC 40910
Begins with Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, then recounts Hussein's early life
of abandonment, poverty, and abuse. Continues by interweaving
Hussein's life story with the history of Iraq and concludes with an account
of the gulf war. For junior and senior high and older readers. 1996
Saddam Hussein: A Political Biography by Efraim Karsh and Inauri
Raustsi
RC 34558
The authors, Middle East specialists, drew on Western, Soviet, Arab, and
Israeli sources for this detailed account. Avers that Hussein's troubled
childhood taught him the cruel laws of survival, and as a despot he rivals
Hitler. The book covers his entry into politics at twenty, his ascent to the
presidential palace in 1979, and his invasions of Iran and Kuwait. 1992
Saddam Hussein and the Crisis in the Gulf by Judith Miller
RC 32505
The author explains that this book was written quickly to provide answers
to questions posed by many Americans about the 1991 Persian Gulf crisis.
Topics include a history of Iraq, some facts about Saddam Hussein and
his rise to power, the course of events that led to the invasion of Kuwait,
and a short account of the ensuing war. 1991
She Went to War: The Rhonda Cornum Story by Rhonda Cornum
RC 43263
Army flight surgeon's memoir of her ordeal in 1991 as a severely injured
prisoner-of-war in the Persian Gulf. Recounts the downing of her
helicopter over enemy territory, her harrowing captivity by Iraqi forces,
and her jubilant return home. 1997
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Posted on 2006-02-24